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Updated February 8, 2018 at 6:18 PM;Posted February 7, 2018 at 2:40 PM

Steelers president and owner Art Rooney II emphasized his support for head coach Mike Tomlin in a year-end sit-down with local beat reporters on Wednesday. Tomlin has the best winning percentage of any modern-era coach in franchise history.
Here, Rooney watches warm ups before an NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)(Gene J. Puskar)

"You know I didn't get that letter yet, so I don't know if it got lost in the mail or if it's coming by Pony Express," he said, smiling. "I'm not sure what happened, but I never got that letter."

The limited partners do not have control over staffing decisions. Rooney does.

In his annual sitdown with local beat reporters Rooney stated and re-stated his support for the head coach. He acknowledged the Steelers' 2017 season was unusual and that he wished a couple public comments by members of the team hadn't been made, but repeatedly dismissed the notion of Pittsburgh lacking focus.

A 13-win team isn't an unfocused one, he said.

"In both the Jacksonville games, turnovers were probably our biggest issue. And so Mike, that's part Mike's problem, but that's mostly the guys on the field have to make sure that doesn't happen," Rooney said. "And some of it was good plays by Jacksonville, so there's a lot that goes into it.

"But hey, anybody that wants to look at Mike's track record since he's been our coach, I think the record speaks for itself."

Tomlin holds the best record of any modern-era Steelers head coach, including Chuck Noll, and the highest winning percentage of any head coach in franchise history through the first 11 years of their careers in Pittsburgh.

Rooney did say he considers postseason performance in his evaluation of the head coach. Tomlin is 8-7 with one Super Bowl win and another appearance at the end of the 2010 season.

"It's always easy for people to say 'Well you know you should get rid of your coach.' OK, well who are you hiring next?" Rooney said. "And so there's another part to that question that people don't want to get into and I'm very comfortable with Mike as our coach and happy that he's our coach and I think he's one of the best coaches in the NFL."